BENI, DR Congo— Nineteen civilians in the eastern
Democratic Republic of Congo were burned and hacked to death on Friday by
Ugandan Islamist extremists, a local official said on Saturday.
اضافة اعلان
Fourteen bodies were found on Saturday, Kakule Kalunga told
AFP. A local chief said they were discovered by Red Cross workers who went into
nearby forest to look for those missing after the attack on Kasanzi village in
the Beni territory of North Kivu.
Beni lies at the heart of an area where the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF) — linked to Daesh — have mounted deadly attacks in
spite of emergency security measures by President Felix Tshisekedi.
The "19 people were killed by the rebels who plague the
territory of Beni, the ADF," Kalunga said, adding that the victims were
killed by "bladed weapons and fire", and that houses were also set
ablaze.
In a statement on Friday, Meleki Mulala, a spokesperson for
the New Civil Society organisation in Rwenzori, deplored the absence of
military personnel around Beni.
Regional military sources contacted by AFP on Saturday did
not immediately comment.
Since May, the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri have been
under a state of siege, replacing civilian authorities with army and police
officers to fight armed groups.
Earlier this month, a contingent of US special operations
forces arrived in the area to help the Congolese army in their fight against
the ADF, US and Congolese sources said at the time.
The size of the contingent was unknown but around a dozen
soldiers could be seen in official photos of a meeting between Tshisekedi and a
delegation led by US ambassador to the Democratic Republic of Congo Mike
Hammer.
Read more
Region and World
.jpg)
.jpg)
